The songwriters who accuse Taylor Swift of ripping them off when she
sang about players playing and haters hating would like you all to know
that their dispute over the reach of copyright law when two songs have
similar elements is wholly different to the ongoing ‘Stairway To Heaven’
case over the reach of copyright law when two songs have similar
elements. And anyone who thinks otherwise is clearly a hater.

Back in 2017, Sean Hall and Nathan Butler accused Swift of ripping off a 2001 song
they wrote for 3LW called ‘Playas Gon Play’ on her 2014 hit ‘Shake It
Off’. The lawsuit argued that Swift’s famous lyric “Cos the players
gonna play, play, play, play, play/And the haters gonna hate, hate,
hate, hate, hate”, was basically a copy of the line “The playas gon
play/Them haters gonna hate” from their 2001 track.

Swift’s legal team dubbed the song-theft legal claim a “money
grab” and asked the judge to dismiss the case. Which he did early last
year, on the basis that the fact of players playing and haters hating
was all too “banal” for Hall and Butler’s original lyric to enjoy
copyright protection in isolation. Writing about playing players and
hating haters lacked the “originality and creativity” required for
copyright to kick in, the judge added.

Hall and Butler then took their case to the Ninth Circuit appeals court,
arguing that the question as to whether or not the simple lyric “The
playas gon play/Them haters gonna hate” can enjoy copyright protection
was more complex than the original judge had admitted. And therefore,
they argued, their case should get some proper court time.

The same appeals court is currently considering the
aforementioned ‘Stairway To Heaven’ case, in which Led Zeppelin are
accused of ripping off the earlier song ‘Taurus’ on their 1971 classic.

That case went before a jury at first instance who also ruled
that there was no copyright infringement because the elements shared by
the two songs were simply common musical elements. The Ninth Circuit
initially overturned that ruling based on some technicalities, but is
now in the process of considering the case again en banc, with more
judges involved.

Last week, legal reps for the Swift side submitted a notice to
court alerting judges hearing the ‘Shake It Off’ case to various
similarities between it and the ‘Stairway To Heaven’ case. In
particular, they said, both cases centred on a debate over “the
requirements for a copyrightable selection and arrangement and the
standard to be applied to claims of copying of a selection and
arrangement”.

However, legal reps for Hall and Butler are keen to distance
their legal battle from the higher profile ‘Stairway To Heaven’ dispute.
Quickly submitting their own letter with the court last week, said
legal reps pointed out that the latter appeal relates to a jury
decision, whereas in their case the judge dismissed the litigation
without it going to a full hearing. And issues over the haste with which
their original case was dismissed are part of the appeal.

Also, they add, the ‘Shake It Off’ and ‘Stairway To Heaven’
cases actually centre on different kinds of copyright: lyrics and
musical composition respectively.

The lawyers write: “[This case] involves a lyrical sequence,
while the [‘Stairway’] case involves a musical composition. Appellants
in this case argue that the copyrightability analysis dealing with a
literary work is different from other creative expressions”.

They then add: “While one of the arguments submitted in the
[‘Stairway’] case contends that a sequence of musical notes should be
adjudged in the same way as a combination of elements reflected in
visual works, such as photographs or computer games, the court’s
resolution of the question presented in [‘Stairway’] would still leave
unresolved the question pending in this case”.

So there you go. According to Law360, oral arguments in the ‘Shake It Off’ case are due to kick off next week.